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AFV Painting & Weathering
Answers to questions about the right paint scheme or tips for the right effect.
King Tiger
MatthewB88
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West Virginia, United States
Joined: November 27, 2016
KitMaker: 40 posts
Armorama: 15 posts
Posted: Wednesday, June 07, 2017 - 03:42 AM UTC
I have a cyberhobby king tiger that has been sitting on my bench completed for over 2 months. Since its a nonzimm king tiger I believe I would have to go with a hard edged camo for this to be historically accurate. I've never done this type of late war camo before and I've been really hesitant about how to proceed. In the past I've always free handed my camo while following a reference. If anyone has any experience with this or can help I would be extremely grateful. I really need to move forward with this.
Armorsmith
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Pennsylvania, United States
Joined: April 09, 2015
KitMaker: 1,063 posts
Armorama: 1,000 posts
Posted: Wednesday, June 07, 2017 - 03:59 AM UTC
You could mask, either one commercially available or use some masking medium such as liquid mask, or use silly putty/blue tack.

I have done hard edge freehand with the AB but it does require some touch up(as do the methods above. The key is very thinned paint at low pressure to give optimum control and reduce overspray. This will require you to move slowly and work close to the surface. After applying the base coat I first make an outline of the area(s) receiving the cammo color using as fine a pattern as possible. I also try to spray into the pattern so that any overspray will be covered in by the fill. Once all the cammo colors are laid on I will go back and correct overspray with a brush to achieve the desired hard edge. After applying filters, washes, and the general weathering process, everything blends together nicely. I have done this with a Leopard and several Soviet/Russian cammo schemes to good effect. Good luck.
MatthewB88
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West Virginia, United States
Joined: November 27, 2016
KitMaker: 40 posts
Armorama: 15 posts
Posted: Wednesday, June 07, 2017 - 06:04 AM UTC
I bought some blue tack for this purpose. I've never used it for masking before, but I've seen some really good results from the method. I've been practicing my airbrush technique with a .21 needle to get as fine of detail as possible. Im going to follow your lead on this and try to go about it in the same way.
Armorsmith
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Pennsylvania, United States
Joined: April 09, 2015
KitMaker: 1,063 posts
Armorama: 1,000 posts
Posted: Wednesday, June 07, 2017 - 08:27 AM UTC
Go for it. The key is to work slowly and close to the surface. Also remember thin paint and low pressure. I generally spray at 3-5psi using this technique-making the initial outline. Good luck.
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